Afterlife
by ashvicous rawr
Summary: Valerie was killed by a member of the Volturi, but why? Carlisle takes her in as a daughter, but she still feels as if she doesn't belong. Edward triggers something in her - her fire. She escapes to Italy to see why they've turned her into a monster.
1. The Beginning

**The Beginning**

"_Ninety-nine percent of who you are is invisible and untouchable_."

*****

I was dying.

I was dying and there was nothing I could do about it. I could feel the blood oozing from all over my body, my energy leaving me all the same. I was too weak to move, there was no escaping this car that would become my metal coffin. With the last of my strength I screamed for help. My voice cracked with desparation. Even though I was near dead, my ears picked up on footsteps. They seemed to circle the wreckage of my car.

"H.. Help.." I managed to choke out as I spit out blood. I jumped when something landed right by the drivers side of the car. He was beautiful in every single way. Even in death, I felt embarrassed in front of his perfection. His skin was pale in the moonlight and the rain seemed to fall off his skin. When my eyes met his I knew my time was up.. Red. Blood red, just like what surrounded my still living body. He crept closer and closer until his hand glided out only to tear the door off it's hinges. I tried to scream, but nothing came out. He stroked his hand against my face, his skin was like cold marble against mine.

"Shh.. it will all be over soon enough." he cooed to me. His voice flowed like velvet through the air and into my ears. I wished that I could do nothing but run away, but here I was stuck. The beautiful stranger smiled at me, his white teeth glistened and my veins filled with fear. "So beautiful, even in death." he said kissing my jawbone. Then I felt it in my neck. A sharp stabbing pain that felt like burning fire coursed under my skin.

I screamed out in pain, he perked up and looked into the distance before looking back to me with those blood red eyes. He stroked my face again, "I'll be back for you my love." he said before running off, leaving me to die from the fire. _Oh the fire! How it burns!_

Coldness against my skin, it felt amazing in contrast to the fire. Then it went away, my eyes closed tighter. "NO!!" I shouted, trying to reach out again. I felt it again, along with another voice like velvet.

"You are safe now." they whispered gently to me. I trusted them, they sounded friendly and as if they were genuinly helping me.. although I wasn't sure what there was to help when death was welcoming me with open arms. Then I fell weak, weaker, too weak to keep fighting.. so I let the fire consume me.

*****

Though the fire did not decrease one tiny degree – in fact, it felt as though it increased. It was like each inch of me was on fire, blistering toungues of flames licked through my veins. But I did not scream, only in the beginning.. Now I could just lay there and beg for the cold not to go away. He never once left me, his skin was like ice against the burning fire in mine.

Then in an instant it was gone. My eyes fluttered open and I sat up, more quickly then expected.. I was waiting to get dizzy but it never came. I was in what looked like a kitchen, sitting on an island. I looked to my side where the person with marble skin never left me. He was the perfection of beauty. He had blond hair, roughly six foot and looked to be in his early twenties. I was almost expecting my cheeks to fill with a blush, but it never came. My hand traveled to my face and I felt nothing.. I was cold.

"W-What happened t-to me?" I asked, shocked at the sound of my own voice. I sounded different.. my own voice sounded graceful and elegant.

"She's awake?" questioned a beautiful voice, which sounded like my own new and improved voice. When I looked I was shocked by her beauty. She was tall, well she looked to be taller then me with caramel colored hair. Her skin was pale and her eyes were golden, but with bruise like circles under her eyes. Her heart-shaped face was full of care and compassion as she looked at me.

"W-Who are you? Where am I?" I leaped up (with ease) from the island in the middle of their kitchen. The beautiful man grabbed my arm, his muscles flexed and I didn't think I could pull away but when I tried I nearly knocked him off balance.

"I am Carlisle Cullen and this is my wife Esme. You are in our home, now please sit for me to explain.." He found my waist and picked me up with ease and set me once more on the island. Then his beautiful voice told me the story.. The story of my death. My eyes found his and suddenly my world went black..

_A scream off in the distance, the deer I was once chasing got away from me as I listened. Her voice was so desperate and hopeless.. I decided to check it out. I ran faster and faster towards her. As the scene became visible I saw a young girl lying in the drivers seat of a mangled car and a vampire touching her face. No doubt it was Demetri of the Volturi, but what was he doing here? He must have sensed my presence because he ran away after whispering something to her, dispite my super-human hearing I couldn't understand what he said. _

_I approached her and touched her skin, no doubt he bit her. Her skin burned like fire in contrast to mine. "NO!!" she shouted as I pulled my hand from her. She reached out to find me again. Surely, the coldness felt like heaven compaired to the burning of the venom in her veins. I looked around, there was no one around and she could be mistaken for dead. I wondered if she had family, someone to miss her terribly. I wondered if she would hate me for letting the change take place, but I was in no position to suck the venom back out. Her blood was sweet and sang to my aching throat. Even I feared losing control once in a while. I couldn't risk breaking the treaty._

_"You are safe now." I whispered to her, scooping her up in my arms. She fell limp as I ran back to my home, back to my family. As I carried our newest addition safely in my arms._

I gasped loudly as I saw my death right before my eyes, through Carlisle's head. My eyes scanned his onyx eyes for an answer, but he was unable to give me one. Esme approached her husband. She kissed his hand then took mine.

"Some of us are able to bring along a human trait to this afterlife, if you would call it that. There is time for explaining later, you need to hunt. Carlisle can take you, he's thirsty as well seeing he's stayed with you the entire time of your transformation." I looked to him, almost expecting to see him blush but he only smiled. "Your our daughter now and we take care of our family.." she said kissing my cheeks. I'm sure if I were able to cry I would. I've never had a family before and it took my death to bring me one.

Carlisle tugged at my hand, "Lets go. Esme, we'll return in a day or two please make sure everyone else is here." She showed her teeth through the warm smile she gave us. Her heart-shaped face nodded, she blew Carlisle a kiss and me as well. Then he started to run and I followed, running just as fast, if not faster.

*****

Whoever I was..  
Whatever I was now,  
weither my heart beated or not I knew this was a changing point.  
It was my transformation, my awakening.  
It wasn't the end, it was the beginning.


	2. Family

**Family**

*****

I breathed in, looking back to Carlisle with a smirk playing on my face. I could run faster then him and I could tell he didn't like being shown up by a sixteen year old girl. He explained everything to me while we hunted. How I was temporarily stronger than aged vampires, faster.. I was a pure killing machine now. Yet I had the tolerance of a century old vampire, at least thats what Carlisle said. We had passed a hiking family in the forest on our way to hunt. Sure, the blood-lust in my throat had burned but I was able to shake it away and focus.

"What if they don't like me Carlisle?" I questioned him as I stood just at the enterance to the forest, still hidden by a few trees. He came from behind me and placed a comforting hand on my back.

"Nonsense. They will love you, especially Alice. Esme tells me she saw you coming." Of course I knew who Alice was now, Carlisle had told me all about his 'adoptive' family and I've even seen them through his head with my special ability. In my human life I was able to read people easily and I could be very convincing. I brought these traits into my afterlife only intensified. I could read the thoughts and memories of people around me and I could even push my own thoughts into their mind.

We walked up to the beautiful house, I could hear all their thoughts in my head. All thrown together, all thinking the same thing. I cleared my head of the intruders and felt completly alone. _I've never had a family.._ I thought to myself. At least I thought I kept it to myself but Carlisle responded to it.

"You have one now." he reassured me.

They were all stunning. The same pale marble skin, content golden eyes, dark bruise-like circles under them.. They all looked gracefull and elegant as they stared at me. Carlisle left my side and joined his family, next to Esme.

I stood alone.

In the blink of an eye someone was hugging me and kissing my cheeks. I saw the beautiful, pixie-like Alice at my side. "Your even more beautiful then I saw." she said with that soft voice I once heard in Carlisle's head.

In all honesty, I didn't even know what I looked like anymore. I was unsure of this beauty Alice spoke up. I swiftly turned to see my reflection in the window and if I could have I would have lost my breath. I was indeed beautiful. My once stringy brown hair was lucious, soft and shiny. Even the bone structure in my face was different, my cheekbones were more defined and my nose was perfect.. as was the rest of me. I looked down to the rest of my body. What used to be lanky and skinny was now flirtatious and perfectly curved. My breasts were fuller and I now had an hourglass figure.

"Wow." I whispered, but I'm sure they heard it. Either outloud or in their heads because it's all I could think as well. I never imagined that I could be beautiful. I was always plain Jane. I never caught they eyes of anyone, now I was designed to lure people in. I was the perfect killing machine - a monster. The reality of it all hadn't hit me until now. _Oh God_, I thought (I wasn't sure if this was to myself or everyone else as well) as I turned back through their backdoor and ran into the forest.

I knew they wouldn't catch me for a few minutes, I was faster than them. _Not faster than me_. I could hear in my head. I looked behind me to see Edward trailing after me and gaining on me fast. Carlisle said he was the fastest, but I didn't think he ment faster than me. Suddenly I felt something rock hard grip onto my arm. I fell gracefully (if that was even possible I didn't know) to the ground and leaped back to my feet. My vibrant red eyes landed on Edward's hand, which was tightly gripped around my wrist.

"Let me go." I hissed at him. The venom was clearly heard in my new beautiful voice.

"I can't." He whispered, shaking his head. I clenched my fist, ready to burst into an angry fury when I was caught off guard and pulled back into the forest. "Are you out of your mind? We can't be seen in the sun.. someone almost saw you." he said regaining his calmness.

My skin was sparkling, as though millions of tiny diamonds were embedded throughout my skin. I looked to Edward, his skin was shimmering as well. "I... I'm so very sorry." I whimpered helplessly. Edward released my arm from his grasp. Where his skin once touched mine felt like I was struck by lightning, the electricity jumped through my body.

"It's alright. Everyone has a difficult time adjusting to this lifestyle, we all have." He spoke with his soothing voice. It calmed me. I'm sure if my heart could beat, it would be slowing down at the sound of his melodic voice. He chuckled to himself. I looked around as if I was missing something. "You think I'm calming.. wait until you meet Jasper."

"Wha-" Then I realized it. He was reading my mind. "You! You stay out of my head!" I hissed, clutching my head as if I could sheild myself. "I haven't went and read yours so it's only fair if you stay out of mine." His golden eyes watched me as if I now had six heads sprouting from my neck.

"You.. you can read minds too?" he asked. Shocked. It was the expression on his face and all I could catch in his mind. Hey, he read mine so I might as well sneak a peak in his.

_I can do this as well.._ I thought, projecting my voice into his mind. He looked stunned. I smirked and began walking back to the Cullen's home. Edward kept the same pace as me and as though I had a sixth sense (well more like seventh) I could feel him watching me. After a while it got quite annoying and I just had to ask him why he kept staring at me.

"Your... Er, well.. You seem different." he noticed the look on my face and corrected himself. "Different than a normal newborn." he corrected. Ah, a newborn vampire. Carlisle seemed very well informed about them, considering he brought four, well five, newborns into this world himself. But he said he saw something in my eyes, something different from the rest of his family. My vibrant red eyes turned dull the second I fed, they were instantly flecked with gold. Something that would normally take a year.

"I am different.. Carlisle said I was more tolerated with the blood. I don't seem to lust for it like a newborn, he said I acted like I was centuries old not days." I said, trying to recall everything Carlisle had said to me on our hunting trip.

Finally, after a few more minutes of silence we found ourselves back at the Cullen home. Edward walked through the door first, while I followed. Hanging my head in shame. They were all talking in hushed voices in their elegant living room. I approached them and tried to regain my confidence.. Not working, but I spoke anyway.

"I'm sorry. Sorry for leaving like that. Everything just caught up with me.." Esme smiled at me and ran to embrace me in a motherly hug. I felt as though I might melt into her stone arms. I felt like I belonged, but something inside me kept saying 'No you don't'. I ignored that voice and finally introduced myself, seeing as I forgot to before. I'm sure they already knew who I was though..

"Please excuse my rude behavior. I am Valerie."


End file.
